'See You In Court,' Elmhurst Officials Told

Elmhurst IL

05 October, 2021

8:49 AM

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ELMHURST, IL — The Elmhurst City Council on Monday split on Roberto's Ristorante's controversial request for parking lots, with the mayor breaking the tie in favor. "See you in court!" Grant Dungan, the restaurant's next-door neighbor, told aldermen. Another man later shouted out, "Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!" During public comment, more than a dozen residents urged the council to vote no. All the while, the Moreci family, which owns the restaurant, and their lawyer sat silently. During the council's debate, the neighbors' lawyer spoke up at times, but Mayor Scott Levin ordered him to stay quiet. The restaurant wanted two parking lots next to its building at 483 Spring Road. It bought a neighboring house and tore it down to make way for one of the lots. This upset the Dungan and Novak families, among other neighbors. The parking lots would come within feet of houses. In Elmhurst, a parking lot is considered a conditional use in residential areas. That was what the council was considering. Alderman Mark Mulliner, who opposed the parking lots, said people buying houses next to other residences have a reasonable expectation that they will remain homes, not turn into restaurant parking lots. Mulliner also said Roberto's would be the only example of a liquor establishment's parking lot built next to houses. Others exist, he said, but the homes were built afterward. Another alderman, Mike Brennan, said he had flip-flopped on the issue, now opposing the parking lots. "It wasn't until I went on site to see what the parking lot would look like," Brennan said. "When I did, it was very shocking how tight this parcel was." He said the parking lots would negatively affect neighboring property values. "This project is way too big for the limited space. This parking lot is right on top of them, almost claustrophobic-like," Brennan said. In August, the council's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee voted 2-1 against the parking lots, with Mulliner and Emily Bastedo in favor and Dannee Polomsky against. That followed the Zoning and Planning Commission's 5-2 vote for the project. Polomsky presented the committee's minority report. She said the code only allows the council to consider parking as a use. "It doesn't govern the activities of the drivers of those cars," Polomsky said. She also said the number of people for or against an application should not be considered a factor in a decision. At the same time, Polomsky said the neighbors' concerns were reflected in her report. She noted neighbors feared more flooding in an area that has seen more than its share. So she said she proposed requiring another stormwater inlet as part of the project. "I understand the neighbors are not pleased," said Polomsky, who has stated before she would not want a parking lot next to her house. "I'm trying to approach this from our code. I couldn't find a justification to deny it." Alderman Bob Dunn said parking lots next to homes are scattered throughout Elmhurst. And he said it wasn't true that no parking lots for liquor establishments were next to houses. "The commission approved this. I don't have a compelling reason to go against that," he said. The council voted 6-6 on the restaurant's request. Polomsky, Dunn, Jim Nudera, Tina Park, Marti Deuter and Noel Talluto voted for the proposal. Voting against were Mulliner, Bastedo, Brennan, Chris Jensen, Jacob Hill and Michael Honquest. Mayor Scott Levin broke the tie in favor of the request. Aldermen Brian Cahill and Jennifer Veremis were absent. Roberto's neighbors got support from neither of their Ward 5 aldermen, Park or Nudera. After the vote, the council had a long discussion about the landscaping next to the parking lot, with the attempt to shield residents from the parking. Polomsky's plan would have included an eight-foot opaque fence. The residents could put landscaping on their side of the fence — on their property — with Roberto's reimbursing the costs. Bastedo thought it was a bad idea. It would require neighbors "to front thousands of dollars, hoping they'll be paid quickly," she said. Mulliner said he could think of no other instance in his two decades on the council in which residents were asked to put landscaping on their property as part of a neighbor's conditional use. But Polomsky said there were issues whether Roberto's should handle landscaping on the other side of the fence and possibly use the neighbors' properties to maintain it. Bastedo asked the council to change Polomsky's proposal to require that the restaurant handle the landscaping and make room on its property to maintain it. The council voted 8-4 to add Bastedo's change, with Polomsky, Dunn, Deuter and Park dissenting. The council then voted down Bastedo's proposal to have the restaurant turn off its parking lot lights at 11 p.m., rather than midnight. The council split again, with Levin breaking the tie against Bastedo's amendment. Mayor Levin called the parking lot proposal a "complex, emotional issue." "It may be the most contentious one we've had for a very long time," he told the council. "I appreciate your diligence on that."